How Much Are Organizations Spending On AI? A New Report Sheds Some Light

Midsized organizations are more likely to use third-party tools to monitor costs, according to the report.

A new report from CloudZero, which provides a cloud cost optimization platform, looks at the average AI costs among organizations.

CloudZero surveyed 500 software engineers at the managerial level about how they were budgeting for AI in their organizations.

The report found that average monthly AI budgets are expected to rise by 36 percent in 2025. However, the report also revealed that only 51 percent of organizations can “confidently evaluate AI ROI,” which the report creators attribute to a “growing visibility gap” and that cloud cost visibility tools and attribution are “crucial” for optimizing AI ROI.

Here are some other key takeaways from the report:

Specifically, monthly expenditure on AI is projected to increase from $62,964 in 2024 to $85,521 in 2025
More than 45 percent of those surveyed said their organizations’ monthly AI budget exceeded $100,000 in 2025, versus 20 percent who cited the same figure in 2024

Midsized companies (which the report defines as those with 1,001 to 10,000) employees are investing in scalable AI solutions as well as cloud and computing infrastructure, according to the report.

The report also found that midsized organizations are the biggest users of third-party cost monitoring tools (at 64 percent versus 21 percent for larger companies).

However, most companies still rely on spreadsheets or consultants to help them manage costs.

The report also outlined the top three reasons organizations are investing in AI:

To enhance software development
To enhance cybersecurity and adherence to compliance regulations
To drive innovation and gain competitive advantage

As to which AI tools organizations are adopting most, the report breaks that down: GenAI tools are the most adopted, next are public cloud platforms, and then security platforms.

The report also looked at which priorities organizations planned to incorporate into future AI budgets, these include:

Improving AI explainability
For AI security and robustness
For cloud and computing resources

“Without effective cost governance, even the best AI initiatives can become financially inefficient. Our report highlights the need for organizations to go beyond tracking AI spend to actively optimizing it through real-time visibility, cost attribution, and actionable insights,” the report concludes.

Access CloudZero’s full report here.